


Adventuring

by 9_of_Clubs



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Cute, Domestic, Fluff, Hannibal and children, M/M, outside perspective, silly fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 09:18:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1852732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9_of_Clubs/pseuds/9_of_Clubs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Will -” He calls back into the direction of the house, and she doesn’t think that’s his name so she perks up, another friend? She hopes he’s handsome too. Oh boy, if there are two of them, Sarah is going to flip out. But she can’t have either one, these are Jeni’s neighbors so she gets dibs. “There is a child here.” He pauses again, looks down as though to be sure she’s still there. “Clinging.”<br/>--<br/>Ages ago, I was in a little outside observer SPN project and the preteen girl's perspective of the ship, when they move in next door, has always stuck with me, so ~brandishes~ the Hannigram version.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adventuring

She raps on the door importantly. She’s on a mission after all, clutching the pie in her hands, her mommy said to greet the new neighbors and not just anyone is nice enough to do that. Jenni is though, Jenni with an I. She helped her mom make it and she’s not about to mess this one up, not like the last time when she’d accidentally slipped and dropped it all over the man’s shoes. But the floor had been slippery and the door had been ugly. This door isn’t though, it’s a nice door, much nicer than theirs back home. Right out of the fairy tales that she definitely doesn’t read anymore because she’s way too old for that, Sarah would never let her hear the end of it if she did. 

She knocks again, tapping her foot. 

Finally, the door opens. The first thing she sees is legs, and she laughs, because she looks up, and there’s only more legs, it takes at least two more squints until she finds a face, and her smile widens when she does, exotic. She doesn’t really know what the word means, not really, but her mom had used it yesterday when Jenni had overheard her talking about the new neighbors, and she likes how it sounds in her head. Excellent, she thinks, raising the pie up, in case he can’t see it from all the way up there. They are going to be such good friends and Sarah is going to be sick with jealousy.

“Hello.” Her voice rolls out in a giddy chirp. “I’ve brought you a pie, I helped Mom make it, I cut the apples, I didn’t cut myself. Isn’t that great?” He blinks at her and she thinks he doesn’t get it, so she shoves the pie at him until he takes it in his hands and the moment her hands are free she wraps herself around a leg. The pants are soft and they’re much nicer than Dad’s ugly khakis, so many colors. Jeni has always been very fashionable herself. He tilts his head down at her. Still not getting with the program, she sighs, maybe he doesn’t like hugs, maybe he hasn’t had many. But it’s important to make sure they know she wants to be friends right from the get go. “I’m Jenni with an I. I brought a pie, and that rhymes, see. Mom said I should come say hello, so I have. What’s your name?” 

He still doesn’t answer, only straightens, she likes that he hasn’t made her let go yet, most grown ups always make her let go. 

“Will -” He calls back into the direction of the house, and she doesn’t think that’s his name so she perks up, another friend? She hopes he’s handsome too, another prince. Oh boy, if there are two of them, Sarah is going to flip out. But she can’t have either one, these are Jeni’s neighbors so she gets dibs. “There is a child here.” He pauses again, looks down as though to be sure she’s still there. “Clinging.”

A sound of something toppling comes next and they both wince, look at each other, and then back up as the voice comes. 

“Well -” It’s a nice voice, a little resigned, a little tired, sounds kinda like he’s just buried himself in something, the man above her looks a little worried, but it’s nice so she’s excited. “Don’t eat her.”  
Eat her, that’s confusing, and there are eyes on her, but she probably couldn’t hear what he said right anyway, and this man isn’t the big bad wolf, he’s her prince. But clearly they forgot some manners in Prince School because he hasn’t asked her in yet. Well she can help him with that, she wants to meet Prince Two anyway. She hops off the leg and into the house.

“Are we eating?” She calls back, wandering in, her eyes growing wide. If she thought it was a castle before, she’s absolutely sure there is going to be no better place to spend her summer now. Everything looks so soft and shiny, and there are still boxes everywhere, waiting to be unpacked. Something glass casts rainbows all over the floor, she sighs and spins around. Maybe there are sparkles somewhere for her, it’s missing a little pink, but that’s what she’s here for. 

“I was cooking.” Ohh, she almost laughs again, his voice is so strange. She doesn’t tell him so though, people don’t like that. But she doesn’t mean bad strange, like Ethan’s braces, just special strange, magical. In his pretty magical house. “But I had not planned for three.” 

“Oh that’s okay.” She makes the right into the kitchen, she’s been here before, a long time ago, back when the Martins had it, she doesn’t know what happened to them, but they were old and dull, it wasn’t anything like this. “I can help, I cut the apples for the pie, I’m very good at that kind of thing. Mommy said it was okay if I wanted to stay and talk, she said not to interrupt though, but she always says that. I don’t think I ever -”

The next thing she knows she’s being lifted into the air and she laughs, wow, he’s strong, Ethan could never do that, and he would never be able to make his hair so perfect, or smell so nice, her eyes widen happily, not ever. She’s seated down on a little stool next to the counter. 

“Sit.” He tells her, a little crossly, she makes a face at him. He’s supposed to be nicer than that, but maybe he’s just pretending not to like her because he’s scared, that’s what happens in all the new Disney movies anyway, she knows these things. “Do not touch -” But she’s already reached out, there’s some tomatoes cut up on the cutting board and she loves tomatoes, Mom is never cross when she steals vegetables, they’re good for her! But he’s looking at her as though she’s done something terrible, she laughs. “You still haven’t told me your name.” 

He opens his mouth, but the door opens, right at that exact moment, so funny, maybe she’ll never know, and through it walks a kind of messy, but still really cute, dust covered, sweaty second man. 

“Hannibal - “ He says, and she giggles, wow that is actually...what a weird word, and then they’re both looking at her. “There’s a kid.” He finishes, his forehead wrinkling all strangely. 

“Yes.” Hannibal nods at him, he seems to be happier now than five minutes ago, that’s good. “This is Jenni.” She turns on him, eyebrow in the air, stares until he finishes it with a sigh. “With an I, I am told, it would seem she is our new neighbor.”  
“Hi.” She says cheerfully and jumps off the counter, runs over and gives him a hug too, he takes a step back and she smiles up at him. “I brought pie, Hannibal has it, I’m going to help him make dinner, isn’t that great?”

“Great.” He echos, but he’s not looking at her, which is a shame because his eyes are so nice and blue, but he seems kind of spastic, and maybe he really doesn’t like her hugs, so she lets go. Wow, she couldn’t be any luckier though, maybe they’ll want to have tea parties with her, or even better, pool parties. She knows there’s a pool out back, and she doesn’t have one, it would only be right. 

“Will was just unpacking some of our rooms.” Hannibal’s voice is in her ear suddenly, softer than before, much, much, nicer and she giggles. “There are a lot of pretty things in some of those boxes, are you certain you would not rather adventure with him?” 

She misses, in her imaginations of what she might find if she went with the other, jewels, maybe, gold, adventures, the sly smile that passes from one to the other of them and the glower that comes back in response.

“Yeah.” Will looks suddenly happier too, a lot sweeter, it must be her, she’s good at cheering people up. “I was actually going to unpack some of Hannibal’s suits next, they’re really something, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you -”

Silence, then.

“On second thought.” And wow, they’re arguing over her now, she wants to tell them that it’s okay, she’ll have plenty of time to spend with them both, really, all summer, and afternoons when school starts, that’s a real long time, but she’s enjoying it too much. “Perhaps you should stay close Jenni, we wouldn’t want you to go too far without a watchful eye.” 

Will snickers and turns on his heel. “Next time.” He tells her with a grin, and what a grin it is, she smiles back. 

“Okay.” And then she’s run back to Hannibal, wrapping around his leg again, ignoring the sigh he makes. “So what are we making?” 

In the end, it goes just like she hopes. He does call her mom, and her mom does squawk at her, which is a bummer, but she gets to stay and they make something yummy, and it looks right out of her books, and grudgingly, though he corrects her the first ten times, he allows her to call him Hanni, but he has to understand, it’s really a mouthful for her, she’s small. Besides, the funny look on Will’s face when he hears it for the first time is really worth it, they need someone like her, she decides, she’s really helping out. 

On her way out, they let her go towards the door alone, she’s not that small, after all, she realizes she forgot her sweater, so she turns back around to go get it, her mom won’t like it if she forgets her sweater, but then forgets all about that, as she stops in the doorway, quiet for the first time. 

They’re sitting on the couch, their legs tangled together, shoulders brushing, and just looking at each other like there’s absolutely nothing else in the world that could as important as that. Weird again, but beautiful, just exactly like the fairy tales, which, she’s going to tell Sarah, are not so stupid after all, not when they’re real. And man, if only she’d gotten that iPhone for her birthday, because she thinks she’d like to look at this over and over. Hanni reaches over, slow and careful, he’s so sweet, she thinks, when he’s not making faces, and kisses Will’s forehead, and they’re so cute together she could squeal, but she doesn’t because she thinks they wouldn’t like it. She’s crept away again sweater abandoned as they start to hold hands.

She can come back for it tomorrow.


End file.
